Although Georgia’s Leonard Pope played tight end, I can remember how much fear he struck into the minds of West Virginia’s defensive coaches a decade ago when they started game-planning for the Bulldogs prior to the 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl.
Here was the possibility of Pope, a 6-foot-8-inch man standing tall out in the slot, going up against defenders nearly a foot shorter than him in certain areas of the field, particularly down the seams.
“This guy is so big he can eat peanuts off the top of our guys’ helmets,” former WVU coach Rich Rodriguez said of Pope.